


City lights lay out before us, and your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder

by FarFromTheShallows



Category: Derry Girls (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cliche, F/M, Family Fluff, One Shot, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-29 05:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18771814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarFromTheShallows/pseuds/FarFromTheShallows
Summary: Unexpected news threatens to turn James and Erin's life around.





	1. Starting from zero got nothing to lose

**Author's Note:**

> A/N I'm dyslexic and English so I apologise in advance for the whole accent thingy.

‘You got any ideas for uni?’ James asks quietly, watching her face change, the answer that he needed. ‘I’m thinking of moving back to England.’ She stares, her face turning to look at him. He was scared to approach the subject, he had been thinking about it for a while. He didn’t know what he wanted to-do, but university seemed to be the logical step.  
‘England?’ He bites his lip, pulling her into his side. ‘As in over the sea England.’  
‘Yeah’ he breathes, it wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the best idea, it gave him more options. He knew it was a big ask, but he wanted her to consider going too, there were more options the other side of the Irish sea.  
‘Oh.’  
‘If y-’  
‘No James, you have to-do what is right for you, not me.’  
‘But Er-’ She shakes her head, pulling him closer to her. She needs to say it now, or she won’t ever be able to tell him.  
‘No James, you have to-do what’s right for you.’  
‘But, what about you?’ She pauses, biting her lip a little, trying to make sure it doesn’t bleed.  
‘We will do whatever.’ Her heart rate increases, as he sits their oblivious.  
‘Have you even looked at English unis?’  
‘I’m not going to uni James.’ She means it, she might go, in the future, but now there’s something bigger, something bigger than both of them. ‘At least not yet.’  
‘Why?’ She is feeling slightly frustrated, to her she just dropped the biggest hint ever. Maybe, if she was feeling less crap, she wouldn’t have minded. Except, she was feeling crap and all it did was grate on her, like a fork running down a china plate.  
‘Because James.’ Her hand finds its way to her short hair, dragging her fingers down it. She wishes that she had long hair to cover her face, this was never going to be a pleasant conversation. She could usually predict how James was going to react, not today. Maybe if her brain wasn’t so fogged with hormones, she would be able to think rationally. ‘I’m pregnant.’  
He sits there, looking up to the sky. At first, she isn’t sure if she verbalised it. ‘Please say something.’  
‘I-’ He bites his lip, he doesn’t know what to say. He wanted to say he’s surprised, but Orla let it slip that she was unwell, and it’s always been at the back of his mind. He supposed that, if you’re sexually active, it should always be at the back of your mind. ‘Marry me.’  
Erin had prepared herself for all sorts of outcomes, this had not been on the agenda. He was supposed to get mad, he was supposed to cry. He wasn’t supposed to ask her to marry him, she was supposed to tell him to go and follow his dreams. He was supposed to leave her, telling her he was too young. He wasn’t supposed to be fucking reasonable. It’s his turn to be nervous.  
‘No.’ She tells him. ‘I’m not marrying you because I’m pregnant.’ She rests her head on his shoulder, to show him that there is no hard feelings.  
‘I want to marry you.’


	2. Maybe we'll make something, me, myself, I got nothing to prove

‘I’m sorry what did you say?’ Mary says, looking between the two children. ‘For a moment I thought you told me that you were pregnant.’  
‘Aye-I did.’ There isn’t much point trying to pretend that she isn’t, her mam was already suspicious. She had decided, before she even told James, that she was gonna keep it, it’s no use hiding it from Mary, and everyone knows, it wouldn’t stay secret for long.  
‘I’m gonna fecking kill you lad.’ In that moment, Mary feels sorry for the lad that has ruined his daughter’s life, haunted by the memories of the day she told her ma and him, but they were older, and they were married. She remembered her ma having to defend to defend Gerry to her da. She watches as the colour drains from the boy’s face, as her da stands up. ‘I’m gonna-’  
‘That’s ‘nough da.’  
‘He’s ruining our Erin’s life.’ He protests. ‘Like that useless, lowlife piece of shite that ruined yours.’ Out of the corner of her eye, she spies Gerry rolling his eyes. He’s surprisingly calm, considering his daughter has just told them she’s having a baby.  
‘See Mary, I predicated this. I said something big was gonna happen.’  
‘Please shut up Sarah, can you take Anna out?’ The look on her sister’s face suggests that she probably should obey what she is saying, even though she really wants to see what is going to happen.  
As she leaves, she’s greeted by an awkward silence, until Joe pipes up. ‘I knew he was a rapist, from the moment he stayed in her room that night, when they saw Jesus.’ He pauses, as Mary can see Gerry struggling not to laugh, his father-in-law’s overreaction, slightly relieved that he is going to have someone in the public enemy number one squad, James was a good lad. ‘I told you Mary, but you wouldn’t li-’  
‘There’s a way to sort this.’ She turns pointedly to her daughter, not for one moment did she think James would do anything remotely like that to her daughter, but this was for her da’s sake, to get him off the poor wain’s back. ‘Erin did James rape you?’  
‘What?’ She splutters. ‘What the-‘  
‘For your granda’s sake’  
‘No, of course he didn’t.’ She wants to add that he’s a gentleman, it was both their faults. They should have been more vigilant.  
‘Did he sexually assault you.’  
‘No.’  
‘Settled then da, James is not a rapist. I’m surprised he’s even ‘ear.’ James just looks at hurt, and she feels bad seeing the hurt in his eyes. ‘Don’t look at me like that James, most lads your age would be off for the hills.’  
‘Just because she’s said he isn’t- she could be lyin’. He could be holding a gun behind her or something, he could be threatin’ her.’  
‘I’m not.’ He protests.  
‘Shut up lad, you have done enough.’  
‘Da, it takes two people.’ Mary points out, she is furious at her daughter. She knew the risks, she knew that this was a possibility. She had given her the conversation, and she had given it again the moment she knew that she was with James. They had been through this hundreds of times, she had even left a not-so-subtle hint that she did not want to be a grandmother when she left Erin a box of condoms on her bed. Clearly, she didn’t get the hint. ‘It wasn’t just James.’  
She’s always had a soft spot for the lad, he always came across as a real gent to her daughter, and that’s all she could ask. He seemed to adore her, it surprised her that Cathy Maguires wain had managed to turn out into such a decent lad. That was until he knocked up her daughter, the only thing worse than knocking her up would be if he left her, there was still time, but something told Mary that, that wasn’t James style.  
‘Why are you defending the lad Mary? He’s ruining Erin’s life.’  
‘Granda-’  
‘She can’t keep it Mary, she’s a bright girl, I bet he’s forcing her-’  
‘I’m keeping it.’  
‘He’s forcing our Er-’  
‘No granda, it was my choice. Regardless of what James had said, I was gonna keep it.’ Mary is a little shocked at that, she thought her daughter was more ambitious than that, not that she would openly support abortion, but when it came to her daughter she would have suggested that she should go over to England. She would do anything to give her a future, a bigger future than just being a housewife. Mary loves her life, she loves Gerry and the girls, she just wanted more for her daughter.  
‘Right.’ Gerry starts. ‘We all need to talk about this calmly.’  
‘I’m not doing this.’ Joe says, getting up. ‘You are as bad as him- defending him’ Gerry shakes his head, as there is a slam of the door.  
‘That went well.’ As if on cue, Erin rushes out the room, having a wave of nausea come over her.  
‘When are you going to marry her?’ Mary demands, ‘it will bring shame on-’  
‘I’ve already asked her.’ He interrupts, ‘She said no.’ Mary feels sorry for the lad, he looks crestfallen when he talks about it. ‘I asked her, and she doesn’t want to get married.’  
‘Do you love her?’ Gerry asks, looking at the boy. He can see himself in James, sure James was something else, but he seems to deeply care about his daughter, and that’s all he ever wanted for her. He’s managed to weather the storm of Joe, when Erin first announced that they were seeing one another Joe overreacted, rivalling the way he kicked off when he found out about Mary and Gerry. He has some respect for the lad.  
‘I do sir.’  
‘Then leave it to me, James.’ Mary tells him. ‘If you really want to marry her, leave it to me.’ He nods, sceptical of her parents getting involved in matters that involve their relationship, as Erin remerges.  
‘Would you like anything to eat or drink.’  
‘Can I have a glass of water please, mammy?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Thoughts?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Thought's? 
> 
> Probably the most cliche idea ever. It is gonna be a series of one shots looking at their family dynamics, but I feel like I need this before I can upload those.


End file.
